Toyota is returning to rally car racing with the debut of a Yaris WRC to compete in next year's World Rally Championship (WRC) series.

The car maker is also teaming up with Microsoft to open the Toyota Research Institute.

STORY-LINE:

Revving back on to the World Rally Championship (WRC) stage, this is the car Toyota is hoping will help race ahead of the competition.

The Yaris WRC will make its debut in the 2017 World Rally Championship as the Toyota Gazoo Racing team.

Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation, made the announcement at the Paris Motor Show.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I am pleased to introduce Toyota's new WRC Yaris which will debut in next year's WRC series race. It's been 17 long years since we competed in WRC. So I guess you could say we are well rested," he says.

Toyota is collaborating with software giant Microsoft , which is supporting the racing project.

Information gathered from the racing car's performance will be used to enhance other vehicle projects.

The two companies have worked together previously collecting data through the Toyota Connected company.

They will now collaborate and form the Toyota Research Institute.

"We are indeed very happy to have Microsoft on our team in a quest to make ever better cars. With 100 million Toyotas on the road today, to me the true benefit of selling all those cars is that we can study and learn from them in order to one day totally eliminate automobile accidents and fatalities. That is one of our primary goals at the newly formed Toyota Research Institute. Its mission: to reach the next frontier in mobility. Or to put it another way: to boldly go where no car has gone before," says Toyoda.

Toyota also announced that it is working to develop driverless car technology and will be concentrating on two different modes of autonomy: chauffer mode and guardian mode.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I am pleased to introduce Toyota's new WRC Yaris which will debut in next year's WRC series. It's been 17 long years since we competed in WRC. So I guess you could say we are well rested."

3. Wide of Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation on stage

"It's wonderful to be here in Europe, the centre of automotive racing with a heritage and brand I've long admired. A racing fan myself, nothing gives me greater pleasure than test driving one of the vehicles like this new Yaris built right here in France."

4. Wide of Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation on stage

"Microsoft has been an investor in our data analytics company Toyota Connected, making them more than just a software supplier. We are indeed very happy to have Microsoft on our team in a quest to make ever better cars. With 100 million Toyotas on the road today, to me the true benefit of selling all those cars is that we can study and learn from them in order to one day totally eliminate automobile accidents and fatalities. That is one of our primary goals of the newly formed Toyota Research Institute. Its mission: to reach the next frontier in mobility. Or to put it another way: to boldly go where no car has gone before."

5. Wide of Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation on stage

"Though not widely known, Toyota has been working on the development of autonomous cars for many years now. The team will be building on this foundation, developing two kinds of autonomy : chauffer mode and guardian mode.

6. Wide of Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation on stage with Yaris

Toyota will invest one (b) billion US dollars in a research company to develop artificial intelligence and robotics, underlining the Japanese automaker's determination to lead in futuristic cars that drive themselves and apply the technology to other areas of daily life.

Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota Motor Corporation, said in Tokyo on Friday that the company would start operating from January 2016, with 200 employees at a Silicon Valley facility near Stanford University in the United States.

A second facility will be established near Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, also in the US.

The investment, which will be spread over five years, comes on top of the 50 (m) million US dollars Toyota announced earlier for artificial intelligence research at Stanford and MIT.

High-profile robotics expert, Gill Pratt, will head the new organisation which will be called Toyota Research Institute Inc.

Pratt was formerly a programme manager at the US military's Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency.

He joined Toyota as a technical adviser when it set up its artificial intelligence research effort at Stanford and MIT.

Pratt said the company's goals were to support older people in their homes with robotics, make cars free of accidents and use artificial intelligence to allow all people to drive, regardless of ability.

Toyota will invest one (b) billion US dollars in a research company to develop artificial intelligence and robotics, underlining the Japanese automaker's determination to lead in futuristic cars that drive themselves and apply the technology to other areas of daily life.

Akio Toyoda, President of Toyota Motor Corporation, said in Tokyo on Friday that the company would start operating from January 2016, with 200 employees at a Silicon Valley facility near Stanford University in the United States.

A second facility will be established near Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge, also in the US.

The investment, which will be spread over five years, comes on top of the 50 (m) million US dollars Toyota announced earlier for artificial intelligence research at Stanford and MIT.

High-profile robotics expert, Gill Pratt, will head the new organisation which will be called Toyota Research Institute Inc.

Pratt was formerly a programme manager at the US military's Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency.

He joined Toyota as a technical adviser when it set up its artificial intelligence research effort at Stanford and MIT.

Pratt said the company's goals were to support older people in their homes with robotics, make cars free of accidents and use artificial intelligence to allow all people to drive, regardless of ability.

"I believe artificial intelligence technology has the potential to change our future lives and society dramatically. I am working with this technology focused on cars at the moment, but in the future I believe it will become the core of various industries. I believe it has big potential to go further than cars and to create a new industry."

"Because the problem (referring to rapid aging of population) is more difficult here, I believe that companies in Japan understand this problem very significantly and very well. And so I think that to address this problem, as well as other problems in society - of course, Japan is a wonderful society where there is tremendous bonding between people, the idea we are all responsible for each other and for social good - I thought working with Toyota is actually the best choice."

Toyota is returning to rally car racing with the debut of a Yaris WRC to compete in next year's World Rally Championship (WRC) series.

The car maker is also teaming up with Microsoft to open the Toyota Research Institute.

STORY-LINE:

Revving back on to the World Rally Championship (WRC) stage, this is the car Toyota is hoping will help race ahead of the competition.

The Yaris WRC will make its debut in the 2017 World Rally Championship as the Toyota Gazoo Racing team.

Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation, made the announcement at the Paris Motor Show.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I am pleased to introduce Toyota's new WRC Yaris which will debut in next year's WRC series race. It's been 17 long years since we competed in WRC. So I guess you could say we are well rested," he says.

Toyota is collaborating with software giant Microsoft , which is supporting the racing project.

Information gathered from the racing car's performance will be used to enhance other vehicle projects.

The two companies have worked together previously collecting data through the Toyota Connected company.

They will now collaborate and form the Toyota Research Institute.

"We are indeed very happy to have Microsoft on our team in a quest to make ever better cars. With 100 million Toyotas on the road today, to me the true benefit of selling all those cars is that we can study and learn from them in order to one day totally eliminate automobile accidents and fatalities. That is one of our primary goals at the newly formed Toyota Research Institute. Its mission: to reach the next frontier in mobility. Or to put it another way: to boldly go where no car has gone before," says Toyoda.

Toyota also announced that it is working to develop driverless car technology and will be concentrating on two different modes of autonomy: chauffer mode and guardian mode.

"Good afternoon ladies and gentlemen. I am pleased to introduce Toyota's new WRC Yaris which will debut in next year's WRC series. It's been 17 long years since we competed in WRC. So I guess you could say we are well rested."

3. Wide of Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation on stage

"It's wonderful to be here in Europe, the centre of automotive racing with a heritage and brand I've long admired. A racing fan myself, nothing gives me greater pleasure than test driving one of the vehicles like this new Yaris built right here in France."

4. Wide of Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation on stage

"Microsoft has been an investor in our data analytics company Toyota Connected, making them more than just a software supplier. We are indeed very happy to have Microsoft on our team in a quest to make ever better cars. With 100 million Toyotas on the road today, to me the true benefit of selling all those cars is that we can study and learn from them in order to one day totally eliminate automobile accidents and fatalities. That is one of our primary goals of the newly formed Toyota Research Institute. Its mission: to reach the next frontier in mobility. Or to put it another way: to boldly go where no car has gone before."

5. Wide of Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation on stage

"Though not widely known, Toyota has been working on the development of autonomous cars for many years now. The team will be building on this foundation, developing two kinds of autonomy : chauffer mode and guardian mode.

6. Wide of Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Corporation on stage with Yaris

1. Zoom out from member of the committee to Head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, David Strickland, being sworn in

2. Wide of Strickland being sworn in

3. SOUNDBITE: (English) David Strickland, Head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)

"And they actually executed their stop sale on January the 21st. That effort was because of the analysis of NHTSA, the fast action of the career staff, and the leadership of the Secretary of Transportation. So, I don''t see Toyota as an indicative example of failure, I see it as NHTSA doing its job. And, when our professionals use the data, make the case, and go forward, we get the results that we need."

4. Wide of committee members offering question

5. SOUNDBITE: (English) David Strickland, Head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA):

"And from my review of the work done, if we''re talking about Toyota specifically, this agency opened eight separate investigations over the time period when there were complaints about sudden acceleration. A lap dog doesn''t open eight investigations. Now, the goal is for us, and our statutory, you know, order is to find any vehicle safety defect that presents an unreasonable risk."

6. Wide of committee members

AP Television

North Hollywood, California - March 11, 2010

7. Various exteriors of Toyota dealer show room

8. SOUNDBITE: (English) Vox Pop, Denise Hines, Toyota Owner:

"To be perfectly honest, I did one stop shopping when I came here to buy a Toyota. That''s how much confidence I had. But the, I want to call it, the media blitz, put a little bit of doubt in my mind. I was, just a little bit. So once I got it now fixed, I feel fine again."

9. SOUNDBITE: (English) Vox Pop, Corey Williams, Toyota Owner:

"My big concern was the brakes. Yeah, I''m very confident though, it''s a good car."

10. Exterior of car dealer show room lot

11. Toyota Matrix car on dealer lot

12. Toyota cars on sales lot

AP Television

Silver Spring, Maryland - March 11, 2010

13. Wide exterior of Toyota dealership, zoom in to sign

14. Pan of cars to Tammy Darvish, Vice President - DARCARS Automotive Group walks in front of camera

"It''s alarming that there''s still that much confusion out there, so we''re having people experiencing problems with cars that the recalls has nothing to do with. So, I think what Toyota is doing in immediately sending a tech team and NHTSA getting involved and they''re inspecting these vehicles now as we speak, I think we''ll see that these vehicles are safe and Toyota''s just making them safer."

16. Toyota cars on dealer lot

17. Wide of Toyota sign

STORYLINE

US government vehicle safety regulators may seek greater authority to investigate defects in cars and trucks and are weighing a range of new safety requirements in response to Toyota''s recall of more than eight (m) million vehicles over brake and acceleration problems.

David Strickland, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NHTSA, said on Thursday that his agency will take a "hard look" at the power it has to set safety standards for automakers.

Current authority, acquired in the 1960s and 1970s, may not be enough to oversee the technology used in modern vehicles, he said.

The government may also require automakers to include brake override systems, a fix intended to prevent the type of runaway car incidents that

some Toyota drivers have described, Strickland said.

It would ensure that a driver stepping on the brakes can slow the vehicle even if the gas pedal is stuck or malfunctioning.

Strickland said the agency will consider mandating event data recorders, or vehicle "black boxes," which typically record data about whether the

brake or accelerator pedals were depressed at the time of a crash.

About 60 percent of vehicles already have the technology.

He also vowed to look closely at push-button start and stop technologies to ensure that drivers can easily turn their cars off during an emergency.

Thursday''s hearing of a panel of the House Energy and Commerce Committee was the fourth in US Congress related to Toyota''s massive recalls for problems with faulty gas pedals and brake problems.

The committee was focused on the transportation safety agency''s oversight of the auto industry, which has been criticised for being too lax on automakers.

Under questioning from lawmakers, Strickland defended his agency''s handling of the Toyota recalls and took exception to criticism that it is a

"lapdog" of the industry, noting it opened eight investigations into reports of sudden unintended acceleration in Toyotas.

Strickland did say he believed NHTSA acted with appropriate diligence in contacting Toyota with consumer concerns.

The US Congress is considering legislation following Toyota''s recalls to fix problems with accelerator pedals and brakes.

Strickland''s agency has tied 52 deaths to crashes allegedly caused by the accelerator problems, and received new complaints from owners who had their cars fixed and said their vehicles suddenly accelerated afterward.

The US Transportation Department has defended its work in policing the auto industry, noting that it dispatched safety officials to Japan late last year to urge the company to take safety concerns seriously.

Toyota president Akio Toyoda recently met Transportation Secretary LaHood and told him the company would "advance safety to the next level."

"I am thinking of going to the US to give an explanation of myself to the involved parties."

10. Maehara walking to podium for his news conference

11. Media

12. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Seiji Maehara, Japanese Transport Minister:

"It is of course important that companies should call for a product recall with such problems, but because we must take care that it doesn''t turn into a diplomatic problem, various countries have to carefully consider their approach."

13. Wide of news conference

STORYLINE

Toyota said it was recalling about 437-thousand Prius and other hybrid vehicles worldwide to fix brake problems, the latest in a string of embarrassing safety lapses at the world''s largest automaker.

"We feel ashamed but now I am taking a lead and ask you to wait for just a little longer," President Akio Toyoda said at a news conference on Tuesday in Tokyo, after a meeting with Japanese Transport Minister Seiji Maehara.

With the Prius announcement, the number of vehicles recalled globally by Toyota Motor Corporation has ballooned to 8.5 (m) million, for the brake problems, and also for faulty acceleration pedals that are slow to return to the idle position, and for floor mats which can trap acceleration pedals.

The 2010 Prius wasn''t part of the earlier recalls.

There have been about 200 complaints in Japan and the US about a delay when the brakes in the Prius were pressed in cold conditions and on some bumpy roads.

The delay doesn''t indicate a brake failure.

The company says the problem can be fixed in 40 minutes with new software that oversees the controls of the antilock brakes.

Toyota officials went to Japan''s Transport Ministry earlier on Tuesday to formally notify officials that the company was recalling the 2010 Prius gas-electric hybrid - the world''s top-selling hybrid car.

Toyoda, the president, has been criticised for being largely invisible during the two weeks after the company announced on January 21 the acceleration pedal recall in the US, Europe and China.

He apologised at his first public press conference last Friday, and again on Tuesday, but was criticised by the Japanese media for failing to outline concrete steps to tackle the safety crisis and to reassure customers around the world.

He said he planned to go to the US soon to talk with American Toyota workers and dealers.

Analysts said fears of an even bigger consumer backlash had prodded Toyota into recalling the Prius.

The Japanese Transport Minister Seiji Maehara criticised Toyota for reacting too slowly, and said he was meeting US Ambassador to Japan, John Roos, on Wednesday to exchange views about Toyota''s recalls and make sure US-Japan relations remained on good terms.

"We must take care that it doesn''t turn into a diplomatic problem," Seiji Maehara told reporters after his meeting with Toyoda.

"Various countries have to carefully consider their approach," he said.

The automaker is also recalling two other hybrid models in Japan, the Lexus HS250h sedan, sold in the US and Japan, and the Sai, which is sold only in Japan.

The 223-thousand cars being recalled in Japan include nearly 200-thousand Priuses sold from April last year until Monday, according to papers the automaker filed with the ministry. The Prius is Japan''s top-selling car.

"Earlier today we submitted the recall notifications in regard to four models; the Prius, the Prius plug-in hybrid, the Sai and the HS250h. The notifications are in regard to the braking system employed on those models. Let me assure everyone that we will redouble our commitment to quality as a lifeline of our company. With myself taking the lead and by keeping to the (INAUDIBLE) of principle. All of us at Toyota will tackle the issue in close cooperation with our dealers and with our suppliers, together we will do everything in our power to regain the confidence of our customers. I welcome your questions regarding this issue and other recent quality related concern, thank you very much."

4. Wide of attendants

5. SOUNDBITE: (Japanese) Akio Toyoda, Toyota President:

"I''m not saying that Toyota never makes mistakes. I do not think we are infallible. However, when we do make omissions or mistakes, we always make repairs, correct matters and replace the faulty parts, as we have done in the past and will continue to do with confidence in the future."

6. Mid of media

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Hans Greimel, From Automotive News Asia:

"Well, I think there is going to be of course a kind of an image blow here, this is that the Prius is largely responsible for Toyota''s reputation as a green environmentally friendly car company. So to see that the Prius be lumped into this expanding global recall crisis is going to be a blow to Toyota''s image."

5 February 2010

8. Various of Prius vehicles on display in Toyota''s Tokyo showroom

9. Interior of car, pan down to foot pedals

10. Close of Prius foot pedals

11. Wide of Lexus showroom in Tokyo

12. Close of Lexus lettering

13. Various of Lexus HS250h on display in showroom

STORYLINE

Toyota said it was recalling about 437-thousand Prius and other hybrid vehicles worldwide to fix brake problems, the latest in a string of embarrassing safety lapses at the world''s largest automaker.

Toyota President Akio Toyoda said on Tuesday at a news conference in Tokyo that the company decided to recall four models.

"Let me assure everyone that we will redouble our commitment to quality as a lifeline of our company," Toyoda said.

Toyota officials went to Japan''s Transport Ministry earlier on Tuesday to formally notify officials the company was recalling the 2010 Prius gas-electric hybrid - the world''s top-selling hybrid car, and two other hybrid models in Japan, the Lexus HS250h sedan, sold in the US and Japan, and the Sai, which is sold only in Japan.

The recall was the latest blow to Toyota Motor Corp., which is in the midst of recalling more than 7 (m) million vehicles worldwide because of problems with floor mats, which can trap gas pedals, and faulty gas pedals that are slow to return to the idle position.

The Prius wasn''t part of those recalls.

There have been about 200 complaints in Japan and the US about a delay when the brakes in the Prius were pressed in cold conditions and on some bumpy roads.

The delay doesn''t indicate a brake failure.

The company said the problem can be fixed by reprogramming the software that controls the braking system.

The 223-thousand cars being recalled in Japan include nearly 200-thousand Priuses sold from April last year through Monday, according to papers the automaker filed with the ministry.

Toyoda has been criticised for being largely invisible during the two weeks after the company announced on January 21 the gas pedal recall in the US, Europe and China.

He apologised at his first public news conference last Friday, but was criticised by the Japanese media for failing to outline concrete steps to tackle the safety crisis and reassure customers around the world.

In contrast to his halting English in response to questions from foreign reporters at last week''s news conference, Toyoda seemed much better prepared on Tuesday, reading from an English statement after doing so in Japanese.

"We will do everything in our power to regain the confidence of our customers," he said.

US safety officials have launched an investigation into problems with the brakes.

The problem is suspected in four crashes resulting in two minor injuries, according to data gathered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which is investigating the matter.

Toyota says it''s cooperating with NHTSA''s investigation.

Problems with hybrid braking systems haven''t been limited to Toyota.

Ford Motor Co. said last week it plans to fix 17,600 Mercury Milan and Ford Fusion gas-electric hybrids because of a software problem that can give drivers the impression that the brakes have failed.

The automaker says the problem occurs in transition between two braking systems and at no time are drivers without brakes.

Toyota''s plug-in hybrid is also being recalled in Japan, a largely experimental model for rental and government use, with 159 sold.

The Prius holds a cherished spot in Toyota''s vehicle line-up and is symbolic of its leadership in the "green" car market.

Toyota was one of the first companies to mass-market a hybrid that combines an electric motor with a gas engine, introducing the Prius in Japan in 1997.

Its high gas mileage made it popular among environmentally conscious drivers, especially when gas prices spiked two years ago.

But the complexity of the Prius, a highly computerised car, has led to problems in the past. In 2005, the company repaired 75-thousand of them to fix software glitches that caused the engine to stall.

"The vehicles today are equipped with anywhere from five to twenty or more computers. They''ll generally communicate with each other and any interference with communication can alter a signal and create a malfunction in various systems."

"Since the chip operates on digital signals and zeros and ones, a pattern of sixteen bits which should be translated to let''s say go fast, or go slow or this much air. With a change from a zero to a one as the result of a glitch, that can be translated to a totally different code and as a result the car can behave totally different."

FILE: Location unknown - Recent

23. Close up Toyota Camry badge

24. Close up of Camry in showroom

Rehoboth, Mass. - Recent

25. SOUNDBITE: (English): Sean Kane, president of Safety Research and Strategies Inc. in

"In the case of Toyota unintended acceleration, the agency really only focused its resources on mechanical interface problems with these vehicles and I think that''s part of the reason we''ve got here today. The investigations were short, they were very cursory, and they relied too heavily on Toyota''s assertion that the problems associated with unintended acceleration could not happen from electronics "

"Well I think that this is one of the problems that Department of Transportation has not kept pace with the technology changes that have occurred in vehicles. The accelerator standard right now was issued in 1973, before there was any such thing as electronic throttles, so its completely out of date, its almost irrelevant."

FILE: Location unknown - Recent

28. Toyota vehicle on display in dealership

29. Close shot of interior of vehicle

30. Close-up of break and accelerator pedals

31. Wide shot of Toyotas being serviced at service centre

LEAD IN

As Toyota blames poorly fitting floor mats and sticky gas pedals for the recall of millions of vehicles, the growing tangle of wires, sensors and computers is sill being scrutinised as the root cause of unintended acceleration in some automobiles.

Toyota executives have tried to answer those concerns before two United States congressional panels, and admitted that it is still unsure if current recalls will fix the problem.

STORYLINE

Toyota - a global name with a global problem.

And this is one of the problems recently identified - an accelerator pedal jammed under a floor mat.

The car manufacturing giant is now trying to restore public faith in their cars and trucks, which has been badly damaged by the recall of 8.5 million vehicles over safety concerns.

The recall has damaged Toyota''s reputation and the company is facing legal and PR problems on several fronts: a criminal investigation by federal prosecutors in New York; a probe by the Securities and Exchange Commission; and anger by U.S. dealerships in line to repair potentially millions of recalled vehicles.

Toyota is offering some customers new reimbursements for rental cars and other expenses.

Company lawyers are bracing for large numbers of death and injury lawsuits.

It follows the appearance on Thursday (25 February) of the President of Toyota at a US congressional hearing.

Akio Toyoda is the grandson of the Japanese company''s founder.

He apologised in prepared testimony for the safety problems and deaths that have been linked to unintended acceleration cases in Toyotas.

Toyoda admitted his company focused too much at times on expanding its sales in the United States at the expense of quality and safety.

A House committee chairman said blame must be shared by both Toyota and US safety regulators.

And while no one has been able to counter Toyota''s assertion that mechanical fixes will remedy acceleration issues, electronics have become increasingly complex.

And that is an area for concern.

Electronic problems can come in many forms, from solder that can sprout microscopic "whiskers" that can short components, to software bugs and electromagnetic fields generated from other electronic parts.

Steve Kolenovic, Deputy Chairperson of Automotive Division at Technical Career Institutes says there are numerous ways that car electronics can fail.

"The vehicles today are equipped with anywhere from five to twenty or more computers. they''ll generally communicate with each other and any interference with communication can alter a signal and create a malfunction in various systems."

Electronic glitches are notoriously difficult to find.

Imagine trying to isolate a short in this mass of wires, which came from just one vehicle.

It could be like trying to find a needle in a haystack.

Investigators are looking at the issue.

Joan Claybrook - Former Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and DOT says other manufacturers are checking to make they don''t have similar problems.

"If EMI (electro magnetic interference) is involved, its a real problem and almost every manufacturer, I believe, right now is evaluating their vehicles to see if they have this kind of a problem."

Seyed Akhavi, is Dean of Technology at the Division of Engineering and Information Technologies, Technical Career Institutes.

He explains the detail of the technology involved.

"since the chip operates on digital signals and zeros and ones, a pattern of sixteen bits that should be translated to let''s say go fast, or go slow or this much air. With a change from a zero to a one as the result of a glitch, that can be translated to a totally different code and as a result the car can behave totally different."

At least two lab tests have found electrical irregularities caused problems in a Lexus ES-350 and a Ford Fusion Hybrid.

While the tests don''t prove that the interference caused systems to malfunction, experts say they are evidence that it may be the culprit.

Sean Kane, president of Safety Research and Strategies Inc. in Rehoboth, Mass says :

"In the case of Toyota unintended acceleration, the agency really only focused its resources on mechanical interface problems with these vehicles and I think that''s part of the reason we''ve got here today."

Of more than 2,000 complaints of unwanted acceleration filed with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), more than half came from drivers of Toyotas that were not covered by the two acceleration recalls.

That brings into question the scope of the tests that have been done by NHTSA to identify the problem.

And with electronics so prevalent in today''s cars, there''s a growing chorus in Washington questioning whether NHTSA has the expertise to investigate electronics issues.

Joan Claybrook a former Administrator, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and US Department of Transport (DOT).

"Well I think that this is one of the problems that the Department of Transportation has not kept pace with the technology changes that have occurred in vehicles. The accelerator standard right now was issued in 1973, before there was any such thing as electronic throttles, so its completely out of date, its almost irrelevant."

Lawmakers say they will continue to push for answers on whether modern vehicles are safe as well as NHTSA''s capabilities to verify that.

But consumers will be seeking, much, much more. They want solid assurances that all cars are safe to drive.

Car maker Toyota's announced it's teaming up with giant online retailer Amazon, restaurant chain Pizza Hut and the taxi services Uber and DiDi to create a new market place with no dividing line separating our lives from online commerce.

The company says it's a game changer turning it from a car manufacturer, to an all-encompassing mobility experience.

STORYLINE:

This is the new e-Palette, which Toyota hopes will transform the way we live and work in a future where fewer people are actually driving cars.

It's a series of modular vehicles which can be anything from a workplace, to a retail outlet to a shared ride.

According to Toyota, the e-Palette's open interior design layout means it can be outfitted with purpose-built interiors in accordance with the user's needs, whether it be for parcel delivery, ride sharing, or on-the-road e-commerce.

Toyota unveiled it's vision of a new age of automation at the Consumer Electronics Show.

The corporation's President Akio Toyoda explains the concept:

"We want the car to be a seamless extension of your phone and computers, a kind of personal assistant on wheels able to anticipate your needs through predictive artificial intelligence. A new mobility service platform is also the engine behind our car sharing test market in Hawaii and San Francisco. In the future much of mobility on demand, or mobility as a service will be powered by autonomy, which in turn is supported by vehicle electrification. Today I am pleased to announce that some of the initial members of our e-Palette alliance includes Amazon, DiDi, Pizza Hut and Uber, Mazda will also be a partner for e-Palette supporting our electrification plans. We want to thank each of these companies for joining us on a new mobility journey."

The company is also teaming up with the car company Mazda who will be a partner in the e-Palette alliance.

Toyoda is keen to dispel any lingering doubts about whether the furture of cars is electric: "Today Toyota offers 37 electrified vehicle models in over 90 countries. By the early 2020s, we'll have more than ten battery electric vehicles available worldwide."

Toyoda revealed he'd learned to drive at the mature age of 51 so that he could understand car design better.

Joking with his audience, he quipped electrification was the only topic of interest around the world apart from the wedding of Prince Harry this year.

He says: "Now I realise that battery electric, or all electric vehicles are what everybody's talking about these days, that and Prince Harry's engagement (audience laughs), but what's not often mentioned today is that less than one per cent of all vehicles sold in the US are battery electric, so there's "

This last comment from a company which has spearheaded the use of electric vehicles for everyday use, is an important prod to the US market.

At the end of the presentation, it was time for a selfie:"Now before I go, I don't often get to hang out with a group such as yourselves. So I'm wondering if it will be okay taking a selfie with you, is that okay? "

The audience at CES clearly approves.

Toyota plans to conduct feasibility testing of the e-Palette Concept in various regions, including the US in the early 2020s.

It also hopes to be the mobility solution of choice at the Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.

CES, Las Vegas, US - 8 January 2017

1. Various of the new Toyota e-Palette

2. Wide zoom out of the live Toyota show at CES showing screen animations of how the e-Palette will be used

"We want the car to be a seamless extension of your phone and computers, a kind of personal assistant on wheels able to anticipate your needs through predictive artificial intelligence. Our new mobility service platform is also the engine behind our car sharing test market in Hawaii and San Francisco. In the future much of mobility on demand, or mobility as a service will be powered by autonomy, which in turn is supported by vehicle electrification. Today, I am pleased to announce that some of the initial members of our e-Palette alliance includes Amazon, DiDi, Pizza Hut and Uber, Mazda will also be a partner for e-Palette supporting our electrification plans. We want to thank each of these companies for joining us on a new mobility journey."

4. Wide of screens at live Toyota show demonstrating how e-Palette will act as a mobile shop and showroom

"Now I realise that battery electric, or all electric vehicles are what everybody's talking about these days, that and Prince Harry's engagement (audience laughs), but what's not often mentioned is that today is that less than one per cent of all vehicles sold in the US are battery electric."

8. Wide of screens at Toyota's live showing how easily adaptable the e-Palette is

9. UPSOUND: (English) Akio Toyoda, President, Toyota Motor Corporation ++Zoom out of Toyoda as he begins to take selfies of himself and the audience++

"Now before I go, I don't often get to hang out with a group such as yourselves. So I'm wondering if it will be okay taking a selfie with you (laughter) is that okay? (applause)."

The world's largest automaker says it aims to sell up to 400-thousand units globally a year of the new-look Prius.

Akio Toyoda, the grandson of the company's founder, and the incoming president of Toyota Motor Corporation, drove the new model onto a stage at a packed Tokyo showroom.

He said the car was eco-friendly and that driving it had a similar impact on emission cuts as planting trees "across land 10 times the size of Tokyo".

Toyoda, 53, was tapped in January to take the helm at the world's biggest automaker, the first time in 14 years it has turned to the charisma of its founding roots for top leadership, mainly to bring employees and affiliates together and steer the automaker through deep troubles.

Both Toyoda's presence and new Prius are symbolic of Toyota Motor Corporation's pursuit of a turnaround from its worst annual loss since its 1937 founding.

The Prius, now in its third generation since its 1997 introduction, is the best-selling hybrid in the world, racking up a cumulative 1.256 (m) million units sold in more than 40 nations and regions.

But now Toyota faces a challenge from Honda Motor Co., whose more cheaply priced Insight has sold briskly since it was introduced in Japan in February.

In April, the Insight ranked as the top-selling vehicle in Japan, the first time a hybrid clinched that spot.

Toyota said its Japan prices for the Prius would start at 2.05 (m) million yen, or about 21,600 US dollars at current exchange rates, less than its predecessor model.

But in an unusual move aimed at competing against the Insight, Toyota also said it will continue to sell the current Prius in Japan, and cut its price.

It targets rental and corporate customers, and will sell for 1.89 (m) million yen, the same price as the Insight.

Toyota had already given the US prices for the 2010 Prius, starting at 22,000 US dollars, unchanged from the base price for the 2009 model.

It is also promising a more basic US model as well for later this year starting at 21,000 US dollars.

The new Prius gets a combined 50 miles per gallon (mpg), compared with 46 mpg for the 2009 model, according to Toyota.

Toyota is promising 38 kilometres per litre, which converts to 90 miles per gallon, in Japan, for the latest Prius.

Toshio Aritake, an auto analyst at the showroom in Tokyo called the Prius "very competitive."

SHOTLIST

Tokyo, May 18th

1. Zoom out from Prius logo to hybrid car, incoming president of Toyota Motor Corporation getting out of it and walking out on podium

"We contribute to ecology as it (Prius) has the same impact on emission cuts as planting trees would across land 10 times the size of Tokyo."

4. Auto analyst Toshio Aritake standing by car

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Toshio Aritake, Auto analyst:

"I think it's going to be very, very competitive in terms of pricing and whatever it has to offer. I haven't seen the inside yet. But it looks extremely competitive, and that's something no other manufacturers at this time can match in terms of quality and pricing."

6. Close of hybrid logo

7. Wide of new Prius car

8. Close up of new Prius car's bonnet

9. Close of Toyota logo with hybrid synergy drive panel

10. Engine

LEADIN

Toyota has rolled out the revamped Prius in Tokyo.

The company's in confident mood, saying it already has 80-thousand advance orders in Japan for the remodelled hybrid, amid intensifying competition with Honda's rival offering the Insight.

"We contribute to ecology as it (Prius) has the same impact on emission cuts as planting trees would across land 10 times the size of Tokyo."

4. Auto analyst Toshio Aritake standing by car

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Toshio Aritake, Auto analyst:

"I think it's going to be very, very competitive in terms of pricing and whatever it has to offer. I haven't seen the inside yet. But it looks extremely competitive, and that's something no other manufacturers at this time can match in terms of quality and pricing."

6. Close of hybrid logo

7. Wide of new Prius car

8. Close up of new Prius car's bonnet

9. Close of Toyota logo with hybrid synergy drive panel

10. Engine

STORYLINE:

Toyota rolled out the revamped Prius in Tokyo on Monday, and said it already had 80-thousand advance orders in Japan for the remodelled hybrid amid intensifying competition with Honda's rival offering, the Insight.

The world's largest automaker said it aims to sell up to 400-thousand units globally a year of the car.

Akio Toyoda, the grandson of the company's founder, and the incoming president of Toyota Motor Corporation, drove the new model onto a stage at a packed Tokyo showroom.

He said the car was eco-friendly and that driving it had a similar impact on emission cuts as planting trees "across land 10 times the size of Tokyo".

Toyoda, 53, was tapped in January to take the helm at the world's biggest automaker, the first time in 14 years it has turned to the charisma of its founding roots for top leadership, mainly to bring employees and affiliates together and steer the automaker through deep troubles.

Both Toyoda's presence and new Prius are symbolic of Toyota Motor Corporation's pursuit of a turnaround from its worst annual loss since its 1937 founding.

The Prius, now in its third generation since its 1997 introduction, is the best-selling hybrid in the world, racking up a cumulative 1.256 (m) million units sold in more than 40 nations and regions.

But now Toyota faces a challenge from Honda Motor Co., whose more cheaply priced Insight has sold briskly since it was introduced in Japan in February.

In April, the Insight ranked as the top-selling vehicle in Japan, the first time a hybrid clinched that spot.

Toyota said its Japan prices for the Prius would start at 2.05 (m) million yen, or about 21,600 US dollars at current exchange rates, less than its predecessor model.

But in an unusual move aimed at competing against the Insight, Toyota also said it will continue to sell the current Prius in Japan, and cut its price.

It targets rental and corporate customers, and will sell for 1.89 (m) million yen, the same price as the Insight.

Toyota had already given the US prices for the 2010 Prius, starting at 22,000 US dollars, unchanged from the base price for the 2009 model.

It is also promising a more basic US model as well for later this year starting at 21,000 US dollars.

The new Prius gets a combined 50 miles per gallon (mpg), compared with 46 mpg for the 2009 model, according to Toyota.

Toyota is promising 38 kilometres per litre, which converts to 90 miles per gallon, in Japan, for the latest Prius.

Toshio Aritake, an auto analyst at the showroom in Tokyo called the Prius "very competitive."

Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda told a gathering at The Economic Club of Washington that the Trump administration's consideration of tariffs on imported autos and auto parts on national security grounds made him "feel sad".

"I hope this kind of conversation can go away," Toyoda told the audience.

Last year, Trump instructed the US Commerce Department to examine whether auto imports pose a threat to national security. The president's decision could have a significant impact on Japanese auto imports, and those of EU countries, especially Germany.

Toyoda said despite his disappointment, Toyota was in the US to stay. He highlighted Toyota's announcement this week to invest an additional US$750 million at five US plants bringing nearly 600 new jobs.

The facilities that will be affected are in Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee and West Virginia. Overall, Toyota will spend nearly US$13 billion on US operations by 2021.

During his remarks, he also touched upon Toyota's interest in electric vehicles.

"Electric vehicles are what everybody's talking about these days. That and the final season of "Game of Thrones," he said lightheartedly.

"But there's still much work to be done to increase consumer demand for all electric vehicles, which is why we are working with government to create the charging stations and the infrastructure necessary to support all electric vehicles," he said.

"I love the United States. I love America, and outside of Japan I have lived in the United States the longest. And for many years, those dealerships in the United States who supported Toyota and our suppliers, I am very thankful and grateful to them, and I'm very proud of them. So, I just don't know why you know they they call it a national security threat. That really makes me feel sad. I hope that this kind of conversation can go away. Just one thing, if I am to promise; regardless of the direction we go we will never leave United States. We'll stay here."

3. Mid of Toyoda speaking with event moderator

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Akio Toyoda, CEO, Toyota Motor Corporation

"Today we currently have 10 plants in the US, and we just broke ground on the 11th in Huntsville, Alabama in partnership with Mazda. Two years ago, we officially opened the doors of our new U.S. headquarters in Plano, Texas. And believe me it's way nicer than my office in Japan. In 2017, we announced an additional investment in the U.S. of 10 billion dollars over a five-year period which we're actually increasing to thirteen billions (dollars) to support additional production in Kentucky, Alabama, West Virginia plants as well as our customers in the United States."

5. Mid of Toyoda speaking with event moderator

SOUNDBITE (English) Akio Toyoda, CEO, Toyota Motor Corporation

"Electric vehicles are what everybody's talking about these days. That and the final season of "Game of Thrones." But there's still much work to be done to increase consumer demand for all electric vehicles. Which is why we are working with government to create the charging stations and the infrastructure necessary to support all electric vehicles pursuing emissions-free technologies, and reducing greenhouse gas is also a huge priority for us, as it should be for everyone. We began our effort to help the environment many years ago by introducing hybrid technologies and our fuel cell technology continues this journey."

Toyota CEO Akio Toyoda told a gathering at The Economic Club of Washington, D.C. that the Trump administration's consideration of tariffs on imported autos and auto parts on national security grounds made him "feel sad."

"I hope this kind of conversation can go away, Toyoda told the audience.

Last year, the president instructed the Commerce Department to examine whether auto imports pose a threat to national security. The president's decision could have a significant impact on Japanese auto imports, and those of E.U. countries, especially Germany.

Toyoda said despite his disappointment, Toyota is in the U.S. to stay. He highlighted Toyota's announcement this week to invest an additional $750 million at five U.S. plants bringing nearly 600 new jobs.

The facilities that will be affected are located in Alabama, Kentucky, Missouri, Tennessee and West Virginia. Overall, Toyota will spend nearly $13 billion on U.S. operations by 2021.

During his remarks, he also touched upon Toyota's interest in electric vehicles.

"Electric vehicles are what everybody's talking about these days. That and the final season of "Game of Thrones," he said lightheartedly.

"But there's still much work to be done to increase consumer demand for all electric vehicles, which is why we are working with government to create the charging stations and the infrastructure necessary to support all electric vehicles," he said.

"I love the United States. I love America, and outside of Japan I have lived in the United States the longest. And for many years, those dealerships in the United States who supported Toyota and our suppliers, I am very thankful and grateful to them, and I'm very proud of them. So, I just don't know why you know they they call it a national security threat. That really makes me feel sad. I hope that this kind of conversation can go away. Just one thing, if I am to promise; regardless of the direction we go we will never leave United States. We'll stay here."

3. Mid of Toyoda speaking with event moderator

4. SOUNDBITE (English) Akio Toyoda, CEO, Toyota Motor Corporation

"Today we currently have 10 plants in the US, and we just broke ground on the 11th in Huntsville, Alabama in partnership with Mazda. Two years ago, we officially opened the doors of our new U.S. headquarters in Plano, Texas. And believe me it's way nicer than my office in Japan. In 2017, we announced an additional investment in the U.S. of 10 billion dollars over a five-year period which we're actually increasing to thirteen billions (dollars) to support additional production in Kentucky, Alabama, West Virginia plants as well as our customers in the United States."

5. Mid of Toyoda speaking with event moderator

SOUNDBITE (English) Akio Toyoda, CEO, Toyota Motor Corporation

"Electric vehicles are what everybody's talking about these days. That and the final season of "Game of Thrones." But there's still much work to be done to increase consumer demand for all electric vehicles. Which is why we are working with government to create the charging stations and the infrastructure necessary to support all electric vehicles pursuing emissions-free technologies, and reducing greenhouse gas is also a huge priority for us, as it should be for everyone. We began our effort to help the environment many years ago by introducing hybrid technologies and our fuel cell technology continues this journey."

Toyota unveiled a futuristic car in Tokyo on Monday - one with an entire side reminiscent of a giant touch-screen phone - to demonstrate how Japan's top automaker is trying to take the lead in technology.

The experimental Fun-Vii - which stands for Fun - Vehicle, interactive, internet - was being shown to the public for the first time.

Akio Toyoda, the president of Toyota Motor Corporation, said: "We thought it would be fun to put a smartphone on four wheels. This idea led to the birth of Fun-Vii."

The company said the Fun-Vii was an example of what might be in the works in "20XX", giving no dates.

Like a scene out of a science fiction film, Toyota's presentation showed the Fun-Vii recognising and greeting its driver and running its own diagnostics.

The car works like a personal computer device and allows drivers to connect not only with dealers but with others, either with a tap of a touch-panel door, or through an in-car interface.

Drivers can also change the colour and design of the body which works as a display.

"A car must appeal to our emotions. If it's not fun, it's not a car", Toyoda told reporters at the presentation, which took place at a Toyota amusement-park facility.

Japan's automakers, already battered by years of sales stagnation, was hit by the 11 March earthquake and tsunami, which damaged supply chains in northeastern Japan, and forced them to cut back production.

The industry took yet another beating when it had to halt production due to floods in Thailand.

Toyota's stand is set to be a major attraction for the auto industry at the biannual Tokyo Motor Show, due to open to the public this weekend.

Toyota Motor Corp. and Panasonic Corp. announced on Wednesday that they will begin talks to jointly develop batteries for electric vehicles (EVs).

The two Japanese companies have a long history of cooperation in producing batteries for hybrid vehicles, an area Toyota has been focusing on.

The Japanese auto giant currently has no EVs in its lineup, however.

Toyota has been leading eco-friendly cars since it launched the Prius, the world's first mass production hybrid vehicle, in 1997, followed by the Mirai fuel cell vehicle in 2014.

Toyota Motor Corporation President Akio Toyoda, who took part in a news conference with Panasonic Corporation President Kazuhiro Tsuga in Tokyo, said the speed of change in the car industry was so fast, the company needed to engage with others such as Panasonic with their battery expertise so Japanese companies can be leaders in the EV industry.

Panasonic has been a leading maker in automotive lithium-ion batteries applied by automakers worldwide.

Panasonic's Tsuga meanwhile said his company hopes by working with Toyota it can advance improvements in its battery capability as well as possibly aim at developing the next generation of batteries.

"The teaming up of the two companies in order to realise a richer and more fun mobile society than now will be a crystalisation of two Japanese companies that intend to lead this electric vehicle era."

I think it (the battery) is a key factor for a wider use of EV (Electric Vehicles) and to realise a sustainable society as well as being an important business for us, Panasonic. In this context, we will further advance measurements to develop and produce (car batteries) by strengthening our cooperation with the car makers."

5. Various of Toyoda and Tsuga shaking hands and posing for the cameras

"EV is a vehicle that carries a heavy and expensive battery. That's what people think. If we continue to do what we are doing now, we cannot change this situation so we need to work with our alliance companies such as Panasonic to seek for 'better' production."

FILE: Tokyo – 25 October 2017

7. Various of Concept-i (EV Car) at the Tokyo Motor Show 2017

8. Various of Fine-Comfort Ride (Fuel Cell Car) at the Tokyo Motor Show 2017

1. Toyota Camry being driven by man who claims he had acceleration problems after he took car in to be fixed

2. Side view of driver of Toyota Camry

3. Close up of Camry sign on back of car

4. Zoom in on accelerator pedal

5. SOUNDBITE (English) Stewart Stogel, Toyota Camry Owner:

"So they did the computer software revamp for what I''m told, as well as working on the carpeting and the gas pedal, but in the end whatever they did, didn''t work, because I almost got into a serious accident last week, after the fix was done."

6. Close up of driver pushing on gas and brake pedals

7. SOUNDBITE (English) Stewart Stogel, Toyota Camry Owner:

"Eventually I jammed my foot on the brake, eventually the brake was able to disengage the engine, the engine override which the computer was supposedly modified to do, didn''t work, it didn''t work. I was only saved by a few feet and about a second from going down an embankment. We had a lot of snow here in New York area at that time, going down an embankment and smashing into a brick wall."

Pool

Washington, DC - 24 February 2010

8. Toyota President, Akio Toyoda and Yoshimi Inaba, President of Toyota Motor North America, taking the oath before congressional committee

9. Back shot of Toyoda and Inaba taking their seats

10. SOUNDBITE (English) Akio Toyoda, Toyota CEO:

"I am deeply sorry for any accidents that Toyota drivers have experienced, especially, I would like to extend my condolences to the members of the Saylor family, for the accident in San Diego. I would like to send my prayers again, and I will do everything in my power to ensure that such a tragedy never happens again."

11. Cutaway

12. SOUNDBITE (English) Akio Toyoda, Toyota CEO:

"I myself, as well as Toyota, am not perfect. At times, we do find defects. But in such situations, we always stop, strive to understand the problem, and make changes to improve further. In the name of the company, its long-standing tradition and pride, we never run away from our problems or pretend we don''t notice them."

13. Cutaway of committee and media

14. Wide side shot of Toyoda testifying at witness table

15. SOUNDBITE (English) Akio Toyoda, Toyota CEO:

"My name is on every car. You have my personal commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to restore the trust of our customers."

AP Television

Washington DC - 24 February 2010

16. Toyoda walking out of congressional building toward vehicle

STORYLINE

The US Transportation Department said on Wednesday that it is looking into complaints from some Toyota owners that they are still having trouble with unintended acceleration after their recalled cars were repaired.

The development raises questions about whether Toyota''s repairs will bring an end to the cases of wild, uncontrolled acceleration or if there may be electronic causes behind the complaints that have dogged the automaker.

Although the allegations were unverified by the agency, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said on Wednesday it was contacting people who have complained about acceleration problems even after repairs were done under two large recalls.

The agency wants to hear from others who have had similar troubles, it said.

The new complaints raised eyebrows in Congress, which has held three hearings on the recalls in the past week and is investigating Toyota''s safety problems.

Toyota spokesman Brian Lyons said on Wednesday the company was investigating the complaints, though it remains confident in its recall fixes.

Teams of engineers are being mobilised to check into the complaints, he said.

Toyota has recalled more than eight (m) million vehicles worldwide since October to fix floor mats that can snag gas pedals or faulty gas pedal assemblies that can stick.

NHTSA says 52 people have been killed in crashes linked to Toyota''s acceleration problems.

However, some question whether the electronic throttle system or a software glitch may be at fault, rather than a mechanical issue involving pedals.

Toyota says it is looking into electronics as a possible cause.

In the meantime, complaints keep coming in from drivers who say the fix has not solved the problem, including at least 15 filed with NHTSA in the last two weeks, according to an AP analysis of the agency database.

The owner of a 2009 Camry, Stewart Stogel, of Mount Vernon, N.Y said he narrowly missed driving over an embankment and hitting a wall when the mid-size sedan accelerated on its own last Saturday, five days after being serviced as part of the recall.

Stogel, who has not filed a complaint with NHTSA, said the incident occurred near his home after a dealership trimmed the gas pedal and installed new brake control software as part of the floor mat recall.

Stogel said the car had accelerated two previous times before the recall fix, and both times he took it to dealerships to be checked.

In one case it was inspected by a Toyota corporate technician who could find nothing wrong, he said.

After the latest incident, Stogel called his dealer, who told him to return with the car so Toyota engineers could inspect it.

He did so on Wednesday and was given a loaner car.

He also left a message with Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A. President Jim Lentz.

The recalls have hurt Toyota''s safety and quality reputation and brought death and injury lawsuits.

Just a week ago, Toyota President Akio Toyoda personally and repeatedly apologised to Congress and (m) millions of anxious American car owners for deadly defects in popular models produced by his Japanese company.

"I am deeply sorry for any accidents that Toyota drivers have experienced," said Toyoda, grandson of the founder of the world''s largest auto company.

"You have my personal commitment that Toyota will work vigorously and unceasingly to restore the trust of our customers," he added.

What is most important to American drivers, and what lawmakers pressed Toyoda and a top aide to provide, was a better explanation for slow actions to deal with the defects and believable assurances the problems that led to sudden unintended accelerations will be fixed.

Toyoda said those changes are being made nearly around the clock, but he repeated the company''s insistence that no link exists to the cars'' electronic systems.

Many drivers filing complaints with Toyota and the government say their acceleration problems had nothing to do with floor mat interference or sticky gas pedals, culprits the company is pointing to.

Outside experts have suggested electronic problems.

Electronic causes have come under scrutiny because until now, Toyota and the government have done little to examine them.

Most modern cars are essentially computers on wheels, with systems of sensors, wires and computer chips controlling the throttle, brakes, transmissions and other functions.

Software glitches can develop in the computers, electrical interference can cause sensors to send the wrong signals and there can be electrical shorts.

Sometimes two or three glitches can happen at once.

Re-creating electronic problems is extremely difficult because often they leave no trace.

So far NHTSA, which has the power to force an automaker to recall vehicles, has gone along with the mechanical causes pinpointed by Toyota.

Federal prosecutors in New York are conducting a criminal investigation into the recalls and the Securities and Exchange Commission is probing what the automaker told investors.

Toyota on Tuesday said its US sales fell 9 percent in February but it would offer repeat buyers two years of free maintenance to help rebuild customer loyalty.

During congressional hearings, Toyota executives said all new models sold in the United States will have the override system by 2011 and many recalled vehicles will be retrofitted with the brake override as a precaution.

1. Various of Toyota executive, Hiroyuki Yokoyama, handing submission papers for a safety recall to Ryuji Masuno, the director general of the Road Transport Bureau at Japan''s Ministry of Transport

February 5, 2010

2. Various of Prius vehicles on display in Toyota''s Tokyo showroom

3. Interior of car, pan down to foot pedals

4. Various of Prius foot pedals

5. Wide of Lexus showroom in Tokyo

6. Close of Lexus lettering

7. Various of Lexus HS250h on display in showroom

STORYLINE

Toyota on Tuesday announced the company was recalling nearly 200-thousand of its signature Prius green cars in Japan for braking problems, the latest in a string of embarrassing safety lapses at the world''s largest automaker.

Toyota Motor Corporation President Akio Toyoda was set to hold a news conference at the automaker''s Tokyo office later on Tuesday to outline

details of the braking problem, including plans for a possible recall in the United States.

In further developments, a Toyota official told The Associated Press that the Prius gas-electric hybrid would be recalled in Europe in addition to Japan.

The number of Prius gas-electric hybrids involved in the recall would swell to about 300-thousand if there is a recall in the US and other regions.

The braking problem for the third-generation remodelled Prius is the latest safety woe for Toyota, which is already trying to fix problems in (m) millions of vehicles recalled for other defects, including a sticky gas pedal.

On Monday, Toyota officials went to Japan''s Transport Ministry to formally notify officials the company was recalling the 2010 Prius gas-electric hybrid, the world''s top-selling hybrid car, and two other hybrid models.

In total, the recall involves over 223-thousand hybrid cars.

Toyota will recall nearly 200-thousand Prius vehicles sold in Japan from April last year through Monday, according to papers the automaker filed with the ministry.

The two other hybrids being recalled are the Lexus HS250h sedan, sold in the US and Japan, and the Sai, which is sold only in Japan.

There have been nearly 200 complaints in Japan and the US of drivers experiencing a short delay before the brakes kick in.

The delay doesn''t indicate a brake failure.

A fix requires new software that oversees the controls of the antilock brakes, the papers say.

Japan's No. 1 automaker Toyota Motor and technology giant SoftBank Group are setting up a joint venture to create mobility services in what they called a "united Japan" effort to face global competition.

The 2 billion yen (20 million US dollars) venture, Monet Technologies Corp. is meant to be running by the end of March.

It will work on on-demand vehicle services, food deliveries, data analysis and hospital shuttles with onboard medical exams, the companies said Thursday in a news conference at a Tokyo hotel.

The energy and telecoms company's past tie-ups have tended to be with overseas startups.

But Softbank has also invested in leading car-sharing companies like Uber, Didi and Grab, and has acquired Arm, a leader in the Internet of Things, or IoT.

Toyoda stressed the auto industry was changing in an era of connected cars, autonomous driving, car-sharing and electric vehicles.

SoftBank Chairman Masayoshi Son said he was thrilled to be partnering with a top automaker on mobility and artificial intelligence, his company's expertise.

The joint venture's services will roll out in Japan first, but a global expansion is in the works, the companies said. It's 50.25 percent owned by SoftBank, 49.75 percent by Toyota.

Toyota is developing autonomous vehicles in time for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Monet plans to roll out a business featuring autonomous vehicle services by the second half of 2020, they said.

Automakers around the world are forming tie-ups in the race to develop the next-generation of transportation, such as self-driving cars.

4 October 2018 – Tokyo, Japan

1. Wide of Masayoshi Son, Chairman, Softbank, walking onto stage

2. Wide of joint press conference

3. Mid of Son talking

4. Wide of audience

5. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Masayoshi Son, Chairman, Softbank:

"Toyota is number one in the world in area of mobility and Softbank is putting more emphasis on AI (artificial intelligence). This partnership between the two companies will give birth to a new era of mobility, something that hasn't been seen yet and I have a feeling that mobility will evolve."

6. Wide of Son talking

7. Close of people taking photos

8. SOUNDBITE (Japanese) Masayoshi Son, Chairman, Softbank:

"This time, we partnered with Toyota and I think that the Monet's service will be carried out while utilizing technology that Toyota will develop for autonomous driving."

"Softbank is working with many teams trying to create new mobility services and to create a more exciting mobility society. I believe that the cooperation between the two companies will be an alliance to make the future mobility society a reality by incorporating these teams."

13. Wide of Toyoda talking

14. Close of people taking photos

15. Tilt down from logo to photo session of Son (left) and Toyoda (right) in the middle

Japan's Toyota Motor Corporation is best known for cars, but at CES in Las Vegas, the company has unveiled an ambitious new venture in urban planning.

Toyota says it will build a futurist new city on land in the shadow of Mount Fuji, and it plans to use the prototype town to test A-I, autonomous vehicles, and new forms of 21st century living.

STORY-LINE:

It's Toyota's vision for the city of the future, and the company says construction will start as soon as next year.

The company is billing the project as the "Woven City", a Hydrogen-powered, hyper connected prototype town that it says will initially house 2,000 people.

At a slick presentation of its plans at the CES in Las Vegas today (6 January 2020), the company said it was already seeking expressions of interest from aspiring residents.

And while Toyota's President and CEO Akio Toyoda admits the proposal is a bit of a departure from the company's bread and butter he says Toyota still very much has the future of cars on its mind.

"Everyone wants to know: when will cars truly drive themselves? When will they know what I'm thinking? When will they fly? And more importantly, when will cars actually transform into giant robot? Now, we might not be working on a Toyota transformer, but we are focussed on the future of connectivity, autonomy, shared mobility, and electrification - or CASE, as we call it," he says.

The "Woven City" would be a "living laboratory" that the company says would serve as a home to full-time residents, as well as researchers.

The city would be fully sustainable, and would be constructed around a a grid-like plan of streets and laneways.

Toyoda says his vision is for a town where commercial and academic researchers could collaborate and experiment.

"Imagine a fully controlled site that would allow researchers, engineers and scientists the opportunity to freely test technologies such as autonomy, mobility as a service, robotics, smart-home connected technology, AI (artificial intelligence), and more, in a real world environment," he says.

Toyota is stressing it's vision is for other companies to also use its new "Woven City" testing site too, which the company says will be built on a 175-acre site it owns at Higashi-Fuji in central Japan.

Ingels says the opportunity to design an entirely new city to test out emerging technologies and to create an enviable living environment is unique.

A key innovation: re-thinking the purpose and layout of city streets.

"So basically today the typical street is a mess, with everything and nothing everywhere," he says.

"So we started by splitting the typical street into three separate forms of mobility. The first type is for faster transportation, and every vehicle is autonomous, with zero emissions, and street trees create the necessary distinction between people and vehicles. The second type will be an urban promenade, shared by pedestrians, and slower personal mobility. And the final type of street will be a linear park, with paths for pedestrians only. So imagine walking from one part of town to the other, moving only through a park."

The "Woven City" will be powered by hydrogen, and buildings will be built mostly of wood to minimise the project's carbon footprint.

Traditional Japanese timber joining techniques will be used in construction.

The rooftops of the city's buildings will be covered in photo-voltaic cells that generate solar power, while underground there'll be a network of tunnels for autonomous vehicles to make deliveries and process waste.

Above ground, there are also some exciting innovations.

"A major piece of the puzzle in the whole city is the "Toyota E-Pallet", an autonomous vehicle that will serve for shared transportation and mobile retail," Ingels says.

"It is also going to make deliveries to the research and development labs, which rise above the central plaza. And the "E-Pallet" will also help create flexible programming in the central plaza, making the plaza the rebirth of the marketplace, the town square, or even the fairground. So in an age when technology, social media and online retail is replacing and eliminating our natural meeting places, the "Woven City" will explore ways to stimulate human interaction in the urban space."

All in all, it's an ambitious plan for a company best known for its cars, as Toyoda readily admits.

"You may be thinking: has this guy lost his mind? Is he like a Japanese version of Willy Wonka? Perhaps. But I truly believe this is a project that can benefit everyone, not just Toyota," he says.

Toyota plans to initially populate its city with its own employees and their families along with retirees, scientists and other collaborating researchers.

The town is envisaged to have an initial population of 2,000, but there's scope for more to move in later.

The "Woven City" plan was unveiled at CES in Las Vegas, a week-long conference that started yesterday (5 January 2020).

After two days of media-only previews, the show floor at CES will open to the public Tuesday through to Friday.

"Everyone wants to know: when will cars truly drive themselves? When will they know what I'm thinking? When will they fly? And more importantly, when will cars actually transform into giant robot? Now, we might not be working on a Toyota transformer, but we are focussed on the future of connectivity, autonomy, shared mobility, and electrification - or CASE, as we call it."

4. Wide of "Woven City" promotional presentation showing urban layout, a city square, a road with autonomous vehicles and pedestrians, and a futuristic living room

"Imagine a fully controlled site that would allow researchers, engineers and scientists the opportunity to freely test technologies such as autonomy, mobility as a service, robotics, smart-home connected technology, AI (artificial intelligence), and more, in a real world environment."

"So basically today the typical street is a mess, with everything and nothing everywhere. So we started by splitting the typical street into three separate forms of mobility. The first type is for faster transportation, and every vehicle is autonomous, with zero emissions, and street trees create the necessary distinction between people and vehicles. The second type will be an urban promenade, shared by pedestrians, and slower personal mobility. And the final type of street will be a linear park, with paths for pedestrians only. So imagine walking from one part of town to the other, moving only through a park."

10. Wide of Ingels talking on stage with projections of the below-ground infrastructure for the "Woven City" on screen behind him

"A major piece of the puzzle in the whole city is the "Toyota E-Pallet", an autonomous vehicle that will serve for shared transportation and mobile retail. It is also going to make deliveries to the research and development labs, which rise above the central plaza. And the "E-Pallet" will also help create flexible programming in the central plaza, making the plaza the rebirth of the marketplace, the town square, or even the fairground. So in an age when technology, social media and online retail is replacing and eliminating our natural meeting places, the "Woven City" will explore ways to stimulate human interaction in the urban space."

12. Wide of Toyoda on stage with "Woven City" projections on screen behind him

Eco-friendly rides and self-driving vehicles are stealing all the headlines at the annual Tokyo Motor Show in Japan.

Japanese auto makers Toyota, Honda and Lexus are all debuting new concept vehicles which embrace lower carbon technologies in comparison to traditional petrol engines.

STORY-LINE:

Automobiles are coming in all shapes and sizes at the Tokyo Motor Show in Japan, on Toyota's stand they're even glowing like something out of a sci-fi movie.

On home soil, Toyota President Akio Toyoda introduced a collection of concept cars accompanied by popular Japanese Major League baseball player, Ichiro Suzuki.

"It is truly tough to compete in a global field. We need to meet many new challenges in order to survive," says the baseball player.

"Those are the thoughts when I am standing at the batter's box. I am curious to what sort of 'wow' Toyota will show us."

The Toyota president took the opportunity to declare the company's intention to play a leading role in the auto industry, wowing drivers in the process.

"Toyota will produce better and better cars and will make an effort towards realising an enjoyable mobility environment," says Toyoda.

"'What wows you' is to be brave and meet the challenge. We will always continue to stand in the batter's box to meet the challenges in the future. Let's do it together!"

The key concept car Toyota is unveiling this year is this new generation fuel cell vehicle called the 'Toyota FCV Plus'.

The vehicle has the capability to generate electricity by using hydrogen stored outside the vehicle.

That way, the car can function not only as a vehicle but also be used as a sort of portable power plant.

The automaker also unveiled this lightweight sports car concept called the 'Toyota S-FR'. Weighing only 980kg, it's designed for nimble driving.

Hans Greimel, an auto journalist who specialises in Asia's auto industry, says this year's motor show features a range of eco-themed cars.

"At this year's Tokyo Motor Show, you're going to see a lot of activities from Japanese makers in particular on their home turf coming out with new kinds of green cars, new environmentally friendly cars - everything from fuel cells, you'll have those from Honda and from Toyota, to electric vehicles which is just about represented by just about everybody here," he says.

"The other trend you're gonna see is autonomous driving trend, self-driving cars. All of the automakers are gonna have some kind of version of their vision for where that kind of self-driving car technology will go. And that's gonna be a centrepiece of the presentations here."

Volkswagen representatives used their presentation at the motor show to again apologise for the company's recent emissions scandal.

Despite none of the affected vehicles being sold in Japan, the company acknowledged the problems have "damaged Japanese trust" in the brand.

They also used the event to present the company's new Tiguan GTE concept car to Asian audiences.

Previously unveiled at last month's Frankfurt Motor Show, the concept is an SUV which boasts hybrid drive technology.

Volkswagen's CEO of Passenger Cars, Herbert Diess, says the car starts in full electric mode which has a range of 50 kilometres that will cover most daily drives.

"Depending on the amount of sunshine, it can be driven even further. That is because a solar module can contribute enough energy for an additional 1,000 kilometres per year," he says.

Honda claims their new Clarity Fuel Cell vehicle is the first production model to consolidate the fuel-cell power train under the vehicle's hood.

That means it allows spacious areas in the rest of the vehicle, something some previous fuel cell vehicles didn't deliver.

The Japanese automaker also showed the latest version of its NSX.

Originally introduced in 1990, the new version is a hybrid sports car which uses both petrol and electric power.

The NSX has been a popular sports car for the brand, many see this as a reflection of Honda's F1 race technology.

"This new NSX boasts the light weight body frame and with newly-developed twin-turbocharged V6 engines installed in the middle part of the car," says Takahiro Hachigo, the president and CEO of Honda Motor Co.

"This is a super sports car equipped with a three-motor hybrid system so that it can meet both demands, the fun of driving and good fuel mileage."

Nissan is showing off this 'Teatro for Dayz' concept car which boasts seats and surfaces that can be used to display videos and images. Passengers can enjoy playing games that surround them in the car.

The automaker's president and CEO, Carlos Ghosn, says the EV minicar resembles a digital gadget just as much a car.

Nissan also unveiled its other major concept called the 'IDS Concept', sharing its vision for future autonomous driving technology in the process.

Nissan plan to offer some autonomous driving features in its vehicles by the end of next year in Japan.

By 2018, the company says vehicles with the technology will be able to conduct lane changes on highways.

By 2020, such vehicles will be able to make their way through intersections on regular urban roads.

The IDS vehicle is also electric and can travel long distances on a single charge, also recharging quickly.

"I think it's empowering. It's empowering!" says Ghosn.

"When you're in an autonomous car, it's empowering because you switch on, you switch off. If you want to drive, you switch it off."

"If you don't want to drive, you're in the city, you're in a traffic jam, you receive a phone call, you need to have a conversation with somebody near you, you switch it on. It's empowering. I think that's great."

"That's why young people are going to love it, senior people are going to love it, families are going to love it, because it's going to give you more freedom to do whatever you want."

"We hope that with this design, drivers will experience a ride that is full of emotion and joy," says Lexus International President, Tokuo Fukuichi.

The original version was unveiled in 2012, but it's yet to go to market.

There was no confirmation given at this year's motor show whether the car will eventually be available commercially.

More than 70 different concept cars are being presented at this year's Tokyo Motor Show.

The event runs until 8 November.

LEAD IN:

Eco-friendly rides and self-driving vehicles are stealing all the headlines at the annual Tokyo Motor Show in Japan.

Japanese auto makers Toyota, Honda and Lexus are all debuting new concept vehicles which embrace lower carbon technologies in comparison to traditional petrol engines.

STORY-LINE:

Automobiles are coming in all shapes and sizes at the Tokyo Motor Show in Japan, on Toyota's stand they're even glowing like something out of a sci-fi movie.

On home soil, Toyota President Akio Toyoda introduced a collection of concept cars accompanied by popular Japanese Major League baseball player, Ichiro Suzuki.

"It is truly tough to compete in a global field. We need to meet many new challenges in order to survive," says the baseball player.

"Those are the thoughts when I am standing at the batter's box. I am curious to what sort of 'wow' Toyota will show us."

The Toyota president took the opportunity to declare the company's intention to play a leading role in the auto industry, wowing drivers in the process.

"Toyota will produce better and better cars and will make an effort towards realising an enjoyable mobility environment," says Toyoda.

"'What wows you' is to be brave and meet the challenge. We will always continue to stand in the batter's box to meet the challenges in the future. Let's do it together!"

The key concept car Toyota is unveiling this year is this new generation fuel cell vehicle called the 'Toyota FCV Plus'.

The vehicle has the capability to generate electricity by using hydrogen stored outside the vehicle.

That way, the car can function not only as a vehicle but also be used as a sort of portable power plant.

The automaker also unveiled this lightweight sports car concept called the 'Toyota S-FR'. Weighing only 980kg, it's designed for nimble driving.

Hans Greimel, an auto journalist who specialises in Asia's auto industry, says this year's motor show features a range of eco-themed cars.

"At this year's Tokyo Motor Show, you're going to see a lot of activities from Japanese makers in particular on their home turf coming out with new kinds of green cars, new environmentally friendly cars - everything from fuel cells, you'll have those from Honda and from Toyota, to electric vehicles which is just about represented by just about everybody here," he says.

"The other trend you're gonna see is autonomous driving trend, self-driving cars. All of the automakers are gonna have some kind of version of their vision for where that kind of self-driving car technology will go. And that's gonna be a centrepiece of the presentations here."

Volkswagen representatives used their presentation at the motor show to again apologise for the company's recent emissions scandal.

Despite none of the affected vehicles being sold in Japan, the company acknowledged the problems have "damaged Japanese trust" in the brand.

They also used the event to present the company's new Tiguan GTE concept car to Asian audiences.

Previously unveiled at last month's Frankfurt Motor Show, the concept is an SUV which boasts hybrid drive technology.

Volkswagen's CEO of Passenger Cars, Herbert Diess, says the car starts in full electric mode which has a range of 50 kilometres that will cover most daily drives.

"Depending on the amount of sunshine, it can be driven even further. That is because a solar module can contribute enough energy for an additional 1,000 kilometres per year," he says.

Honda claims their new Clarity Fuel Cell vehicle is the first production model to consolidate the fuel-cell power train under the vehicle's hood.

That means it allows spacious areas in the rest of the vehicle, something some previous fuel cell vehicles didn't deliver.

The Japanese automaker also showed the latest version of its NSX.

Originally introduced in 1990, the new version is a hybrid sports car which uses both petrol and electric power.

The NSX has been a popular sports car for the brand, many see this as a reflection of Honda's F1 race technology.

"This new NSX boasts the light weight body frame and with newly-developed twin-turbocharged V6 engines installed in the middle part of the car," says Takahiro Hachigo, the president and CEO of Honda Motor Co.

"This is a super sports car equipped with a three-motor hybrid system so that it can meet both demands, the fun of driving and good fuel mileage."

Nissan is showing off this 'Teatro for Dayz' concept car which boasts seats and surfaces that can be used to display videos and images. Passengers can enjoy playing games that surround them in the car.

The automaker's president and CEO, Carlos Ghosn, says the EV minicar resembles a digital gadget just as much a car.

Nissan also unveiled its other major concept called the 'IDS Concept', sharing its vision for future autonomous driving technology in the process.

Nissan plan to offer some autonomous driving features in its vehicles by the end of next year in Japan.

By 2018, the company says vehicles with the technology will be able to conduct lane changes on highways.

By 2020, such vehicles will be able to make their way through intersections on regular urban roads.

The IDS vehicle is also electric and can travel long distances on a single charge, also recharging quickly.

"I think it's empowering. It's empowering!" says Ghosn.

"When you're in an autonomous car, it's empowering because you switch on, you switch off. If you want to drive, you switch it off."

"If you don't want to drive, you're in the city, you're in a traffic jam, you receive a phone call, you need to have a conversation with somebody near you, you switch it on. It's empowering. I think that's great."

"That's why young people are going to love it, senior people are going to love it, families are going to love it, because it's going to give you more freedom to do whatever you want."

"We hope that with this design, drivers will experience a ride that is full of emotion and joy," says Lexus International President, Tokuo Fukuichi.

The original version was unveiled in 2012, but it's yet to go to market.

There was no confirmation given at this year's motor show whether the car will eventually be available commercially.

More than 70 different concept cars are being presented at this year's Tokyo Motor Show.

The event runs until 8 November.

AP TELEVISION

Tokyo, Japan - 28 October 2015

1. Close of wheel of Toyota Motor Corp.'s concept car "FCV plus" on show at Tokyo Motor Show

2. Wide of FCV plus

3. Close of glowing ring on FCV plus

4. Wide of Toyota's world and Japan premiere vehicles on display

5. Close of Toyota's world and Japan premiere vehicle "SFR"

6. Wide of Ichiro Suzuki, American Major League Baseball Player, and Akio Toyoda, President and CEO of Toyota Motor Co., shaking hands onstage

7. Close of Suzuki and Toyoda onstage

8. SOUNDBITE: (Japanese) Ichiro Suzuki, American Major League Baseball Player:

"It is truly tough to compete in a global field. We need to meet many new challenges in order to survive. Those are the thoughts when I am standing at the batter's box. I am curious to what sort of 'wow" Toyota will show us."

"Toyota will produce better and better cars and will make an effort towards realising an enjoyable mobility environment. 'What wows you' is to be brave and meet the challenge. We will always continue to stand in the batter's box to meet the challenges in the future. Let's do it together!"

10. Various of Hans Greimel, Automotive News, Asia Editor, looking at car at Tokyo Motor Show

11. SOUNDBITE: (English) Hans Greimel, Automotive News, Asia Editor:

"At this year's Tokyo Motor Show, you're going to see a lot of activities from Japanese makers in particular on their home turf coming out with new kinds of green cars, new environmentally friendly cars - everything from fuel cells, you'll have those from Honda and from Toyota, to electric vehicles which is just about represented by just about everybody here. The other trend you're gonna see is autonomous driving trend, self-driving cars. All of the automakers are gonna have some kind of version of their vision for where that kind of self-driving car technology will go. And that's gonna be a centrepiece of the presentations here."

"This new NSX boasts the light weight body frame and with newly-developed twin-turbocharged V6 engines installed in the middle part of the car. This is a super sports car equipped with a three-motor hybrid system so that it can meet both demands, the fun of driving and good fuel mileage."

"I think it's empowering. It's empowering! When you're in an autonomous car, it's empowering because you switch on, you switch off. If you want to drive, you switch it off. If you don't want to drive, you're in the city, you're in a traffic jam, you receive a phone call, you need to have a conversation with somebody near you, you switch it on. It's empowering. I think that's great. That's why young people are going to love it, senior people are going to love it, families are going to love it, because it's going to give you more freedom to do whatever you want."